Phoebe Avalon's Story

Atir Farous had looked at the animosity between the two teachers, a small smile creeping on his face.

"Please, please, my dear friends," He began, standing up, and clasped his hands. "It does no good to show such animosity with the students watching, even if it pleases me to no end." As his hands clasped, the two teachers' faces were conceleaed behind a large smiley face

"I'd rather you two do not show your facial expressions for now" He stated, grinning.

"But, alas, I must actually introduce myself, and not add wood to the flames of annoyance, as much as I'd like to." He stated, as he began pacing.

"Now, for the poor students who do not know of me. I am Atir Farouz, master illusionist, and, in my humble opinion, the best teacher in this school."

"As a teacher, my job is to teach. As such, I will teach you. But, that's not why I am here. As a Master Illusionist, I could be doing so many different things. Swindiling the foolish rich, for example. I teach, since it gives me the chance to do what I please. I follow my whims, and my only obligation will be to teach you."

"You can approach me, for anything, but I can not promise that I will do anything to alleviate a problem." He stated, as he sat back down into his chair.

Luken

Chiming bells and a moving crowd gave Luken something to do. Tongues, locked doors, crowds...he was still absorbing. At the back of the long table on the left, he was glad to find out names, powers. Ellard was indeed a stuttery lad. Weak. And he confirmed his roommate Cecile.

When he introduced himself, he gave only his first name "Luken..." eyeing a few around him with a curled smile. He refused to let anyone have the upper hand on him. April's power did interest him though. Impervious to their powers? He kept smiling politely, imagining how he could test that as he took his seat.

But what flipped a switch in his mind were the classes.

In particular, Necromancy.

He'd never thought about it. At least not in the sense of actually being able to do it. Control them. The dead, in the ground, rotting, smelling, lost to this world...Surely anyone who could master that skill would be powerful, untouchable. Straightening his collar, his eyes flickered back and forth at the invisible possibilities before him. Forget water manipulation...he could have real power.

In fact, many of the classes intrigued him. Surprised, he folded his hands, laughing. Maybe he would like this place.

Glancing to Cecile, he muttered, "Should be a fun year," eyebrows high.

Cecil, or Cecile (it's hard to say which; he isn't correcting anybody) snaps out of a trance, as he had been staring off at April and was mumbling something to himself.

"O-oh...I guess," is all his reply to Luken. It's hard to tell what he's exactly thinking behind that straight face he was making, but whatever it was that got him thinking disappeared soon after; his attention was redirected on the squabbling teachers, and he could hear a small scoff deriving from Cecil's mouth.

John's eyes widen at Maya's... less than appropriate manner of speaking, taken aback by her nature. He looks at her with apprehension, making sure to memorize her name and features, as he most certainly did not wish to run into her often. Looking at the instructor for Necromancy, he nods to himself- That seems like a reasonable attitude. John thinks. Then, his head once again turned, and he appraised the Instructor regarding Illusion. He seemed reasonable enough, if a bit too outgoing. He could certainly be worse... John thinks, casting a quick glance toward Maya.

There was a brief pause, while each teacher seemed to assume that someone else was going next. Luthien finally turned his head and made a small gesture to a very young-looking woman, seemingly more of an age to be a student than a teacher. She nodded and rose.

"I am Milhera Zandras," she said, speaking with a quiet confidence that belied her youthful appearance. She had long brown hair and clear blue eyes, and her green dress was patterned with vines and leaves. "It will be my pleasure to teach the proper use of the natural forces, to those of you who wish to learn. Light and darkness, fire and ice, earth and wind -- all of these will answer to your call, should you learn how to address them. As for myself personally, I am always pleased to help when I can. Please, do not be shy about bringing your questions and concerns to me at any time." She smiled warmly at them all, and resumed her seat.

Next, a young man -- though not as young-looking as Milhera -- rose to face the students. He had short dark hair, and wore a long-sleeved, high-collared black robe. He regarded the students sourly for a moment. "Thomas White," he said curtly. "Healer." He sat back down without further elaboration or comment.

Finally, a dark-skinned man, heavily muscled and bristling with weapons, stood up. "I am Jan Zhao," he said, his voice deep and subtly accented, "Servant of Al-Monj, and teacher of non-magical combat at this illustrious Academy. To be more specific, I teach Unarmed Combat, Bladed Weapons, Blunt Weapons, and Ranged Weapons. As my colleague Instructor Mendici explained, it is mandatory for first-year students to take either a non-magical combat class, or self-defense. If you are undecided as to which might suit you best, please feel free to speak to either or both of us before you sign up." He inclined his head, and sat down, moving with a remarkable grace for someone so heavily armed.

Luthien nodded, and addressed the students again. "Unfortunately, several teachers were unable to be here. You will certainly meet them in the future, so for now, I will simply list their classes: Summoning, Alchemical Potions, and the Art of Magic. Now, does anyone have any questions about any of these classes, or those taught by any of the instructors present?"

After Luthien and the others answered any questions, lunch was served -- a well-seasoned stew, brought out in two large bowls per table, with stacks of smaller bowls for the students to serve it into. There were also baskets of fluffy round rolls, and butter to go with them. It was simple fare, by Aeolian standards -- much more the kind of thing you'd eat in a Shadowtown tavern, albeit one of the nicer Shadowtown taverns.

As the servers were still working on bringing out the food, Luthien said to the first-years, "After you've all eaten, please meet in the Great Hall, where you first entered, for a tour of the Academy. That's also where you'll find the class sign-up sheets, against the back wall. Simply add your name to the sheet for each class you wish to take. You may take up to six classes, although I recommend four or five. And since we cannot always arrange the schedule so as to provide everyone with all of the classes they wish to take, please put a star next to your name for those that are a particular priority for you."

"Now, please enjoy your lunch," he said, smiling.

Phoebe didn't really feel in the mood to socialize. She wanted to get a good look at the classes so she could decide what she would be able to do. She'd never done much with her magic that involved anything other than plants and a few stray animals. Eager to let her magic grow and develop, she took great pleasure in signing up for the following classes.

Forces of Nature
Basic Healing
Summoning
Working with the Post-Animate
Self Defence

Phoebe picked the classes that had a base in the powers that she had already developed as well as a few things that just seemed interesting. With all of her ups and downs about coming to the school, she finally found something to be excited about.

The Chatelaine eyes the gathering crowd of students with an air of disapproval... though exactly what it is that she disapproves of is unclear. Finally some tipping point is reached, whether in the number of students or the time she's waited, and she clears her throat to gather their scattered attention.

"Welcome to the Liminal Academy," she says, in a tone that is not, in fact, particularly welcoming. "We presently stand in the Great Hall. Those of you who arrived in a timely fashion will have already found your rooms. There is also common room for your House leading off of each balcony hall. We will not be visiting the common rooms as a group, as they are intended to be for the members of each respective House, but I trust you will manage to find them."

"On this level, there are eight classrooms surrounding the Great Hall. As you can see on their doors," she gestures, "they are named on a theme of mythological creatures: dragon, unicorn, griffin, phoenix, basilisk, pegasus, harpy, chimera."

"Now, if you will please follow me, we have some ground to cover." The Chatelaine sweeps forwards, the hem of her unfashionably long dress just brushing the floor. She takes the right-hand doorway of the two that lead to the two parallel hallways, and then immediately turns right, down another hall.

"The large doors to our right lead to the East Gymnasium, where the weapons classes are held. Ahead is the East Tower. You will find that the Auditorium is accessible from this level, or from one level up."

As they reach the end of the hall, she opens the door, allowing the students to see into the large circular room, with tiers of seats rising up into the shadows, as it is presently unilluminated. To the right of the door, stairs follow the outer curve of the room upwards, while to the right, a hall follows the same curve.

"Moving on," she says, and heads down the hall, "The library." Midway down the hall, she opens another door, to the left, and this time ushers them all inside. She looks to the young woman at the central desk. "Ms. Ladria," she says. "Would you be so kind as to go over the rules of the library for our new first-years?"

As everyone is filed into the Library, they can see a single...student, though a little older, walking away from the central desk, leaving the spot empty. She briskly approached a shelf, and began to climb up a precariously steep ladder. She softly mumbled to herself, apparently lost in her own train of thoughts, when she suddenly snapped her fingers, and obtained a few books from the shelves nearby, by then it was two stories up.

The ladder wobbled under her sudden movements, and the two narrow legs began to lean backwards, apparently unable to support the small lady with the books.

With a cry, she fell from the two-story height...

...and was subsequently caught by a slide of ice that had sprung up from the floor. The ladder was caught in the ice, and the student slid down to the floor, undamaged. The students could feel an immediate change in the air...as if the air was a greenhouse on the top of a very high mountain.

It was only then that she noticed the students, and more importantly, the Chatelaine.

"..."

She stared at them, a little surprised, before blinking once or twice to snap herself back into reality. She plopped her books down on a rather strangely-colored table, a bright lime green. She then, with a minor gesture of her left hand, shifted the ice so that the ladder was re-aligned to its original position. With another small gesture, the ice began to let out a strange sort of hissing noise, and a sort of fume wafted back into the air. It was only then that the air returned to its normal quality...

She let her arm go down to her side, and then folded her hands sheepishly. A small tinge of blush was on her face now, her head now a cute beet of embarrassment.

"...p-pardon me f-for my earlier actions...M-miss Chatelaine...

...I-I'm sorry y-you had to...see that, students. I am Ms. Ladria, th-the...the Art teacher...a-and...daytime L-librarian here...

...st-students here...they can...um...borrow books...from here...COPIES. N-no, copies of books (th-thanks to the Alchemy w-we havebeensograciouslyblessedwithhere)...which w-will wither by its due date...

...t-the inventory here...covers m-many subjects...concerning any...and every topic...

...i-if y-you need a specific...d-document...o-or some other kind of assistance...please ask. The library can be accessed a-at any time, d-day and night...though in cl-class hours you will need permission from a teacher.

...w-we also have closed-off study areas made f-for students...to w-work in th-their own environment.

...I-I believe...that is all...?"

She gave the Chatelaine a pleading look, as if she wanted some aid...

"...i-if any of th-the students here want to ask a question...feel free to..."